A law to prohibit schools from deducting dues on behalf of unions and other professional organizations from employees' wages passed the Arkansas House of Representatives on Thursday, moving to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders for action.
Rep. Grant Hodges, R-Centerton, and Sen. Joshua Bryant, R-Rogers, the sponsors of the bill, said it is directed at teacher unions that they said pressure educators into joining their group and spend dues on political campaigns. The bill was originally voted down Wednesday evening in the House after some Republican members worried it would affect retired teachers' dues.
Hodges said the bill would not prevent unions or professional organizations from collecting dues, just end "the convenience" employers have by automatically deducting dues from salaries.
"I'm sure it's convenience to have the government collecting these organizations' dues for them," Hodges said during Wednesday's debate. "But for me, that convenience, while it may be convenient, is coming at the expense of making others feel pressured to join."
But when the House reconvened Thursday morning, Rep. Jeff Wardlaw, R-Hermitage, asked lawmakers to reconsider the bill, saying after some late-night and morning discussion the bill did not affect retirees' dues.
"I think a lot of me and my colleagues had concerns about the retiree's deductions on this bill; therefore we were no votes," Wardlaw said Thursday. "After doing some research last night and this morning, I can gladly tell the membership that we have confirmed there will be no effect to the retired teachers of Arkansas with this bill."
The Republican-controlled House voted 70-17 in favor of the bill.
Alexa Henning, a spokeswoman for Sanders, confirmed the governor plans to sign the bill.
"Public education has faced an unrelenting onslaught from the legislature this session and the final act is an effort to weaken our ability to advocate for our students and the communities we serve -- ironically while taking local control away from school districts," said Carol Fleming, president of the Arkansas Education Association, an affiliate of the National Education Association, the nation's largest teacher union, in a statement.
Rep. Steven Walker, R-Horseshoe Bend, voted against the bill, saying he could not support it because it could affect retired teachers' dues to their professional association, but said otherwise he would back the bill. After Wardlaw's motion to reconsider, Walker switched his vote.
The debate over the bill became somewhat heated Wednesday evening when Rep. Jim Wooten, a Beebe Republican who often clashes with his party when it comes to public school matters, spoke against the bill, saying teachers in his district voluntarily have funds directed from their wages to help fund a scholarship for students. Wooten said he took issue with Hodges for leaving the well before legislators could ask him questions about his bill.
"What irritated me most of all was he didn't want any question about this, because if you'll notice, it's the same group over and over again that's coming up here and bad-mouthing school teachers," Wooten said Wednesday.
When Rep. Ryan Rose, R-Van Buren, stood to ask Wooten a question, Wooten lashed out saying, "Pastor, you can sit down," which drew laughter from some fellow legislators and a light rebuke from House Speaker Matthew Shepherd, who told Wooten to make his comments "on the bill."
Rose, an associate pastor at Evangel Temple Assembly of God Church in Fort Smith, responded by saying, "I would like to not be told sit down again when I ask a question."
Later Wednesday evening, Wooten came to the well to apologize to Rose, saying "I love the pastor and appreciate his ministry."